Where Did Everyone Go?

[naturalstrength]

IMHO the barbell comes first... everything else after!

You're going to make a lot of friends here, Mitch.

-Rex

Rex Im Sorry if I offended you

No need to apologize Mitch, your only stating your opinion!

Just my theories on the subject...:

1. Bending is relatively hard to combine with other grip endeavors. It really wears and tears on hands, fingers and wrists, especially if the path of smaller wraps is chosen. Personally I worked up to a shiny in IMPs and were overtrained for several weeks.

2. Bending (especially) isn't recognised as a typical grip contest.

=> #1 and #2 has the consequence that guys who are competing doesn't focus on bending.

3. It's relatively achievable to reach the level of red nail/bastard, but after that progress becomes more difficult. So after the first year or so, most "benders" fade away and lose interest, since it's farther between PRs, less videos to show etc. In most cases the "new guys" lose interest and leave the bending...

4. The freeze of the previous "nail-man-lists" probably "alienated" some of the guys who frequented those lists. I'm not saying it was a bad move, but some of them perhaps didn't appreciate it too much

5. Of course, the wrapping issue. I won't dwell on that point, since I don't make too much friends discussing the topic here , but in my opinion, it's a reason. Let me also clarify 2 things here:

1. The biggest problem with the wrapping issue isn't what size of wraps that's ok, the biggest problem is the historical reluctance to some kind of standard

2. The current version of the steel slayer's list and its rules is a great effort to set a standard in this area.

Just my own theories/speculations on the subject, Henrik

Thanks for the reply Henrik! I do agree with you on some of these points, but I still don't see point #2 as a factor. Once again, it is the EXTREME minority of members who partcipate in these contests in the first place. Also, it is a crying shame that the "grip mob" has eliminated bending in contests. Fair play if you want to demonize DO(since many argue it's not a true "test of grip"), but what about DU, reverse, heslep, slim style bending, horseshoe bending, long-mid/shortbar bending, etc.... I guess if the "grip mob" feels that all these facets of bending are not worthy of contest status, than maybe we should just change the name of this forum from the "gripboard" to the "plate-pinching/levering/and thickbar board". So, the consensus, as I understand it, is that the decline in steel bending is because the "grip mob" doesn't want it to affect the "true" tests of grip as found in these grip contests(ie: platepinch/levering/thickbar), so lets just eliminate them right!?! What ever happened to the proverbial "well rounded" athlete, you know, the one who can perform well at all aspects of the athletes given discipline?!? Imagine a "World's Strongest Man" competition where the events of barell tossing, farmer's walk's, overhead log press, etc. is removed from the competition because Maurize Pujinowski(sp??) doesn't want those events to affect his Atlas stone lifting!!!

I think the "grip mob" should maybe re-prioritize their thinking and get a more balanced approach. Just my 2 cents.

-Carl

Some of us do try to use a very balanced approach. I dont know if you realize this but I have bent some of the toughest stuff out there. Edgins of every size down to 5.5", 5/16 G8, FBBC 5/16 Square down to 6", 13"x1/2", etc and I have done all of these in competition. I have also closed a #4 in competition, pinched 239#, 2" Vbar 280#, and I could go on. What have you done in heads up competition? When you have trained for and done a competition that includes not just bending but grippers, pinch, thickbar, etc and have tried to do your absolute best in every event come back and talk to me.

- Aaron

...............????????(Reader is smacking their head against the desk in disbelief)

Ok guys! Lets all take a deep breath, count to 10, breath in/breath out, wax-on/wax-off... ok, are we all relaxed??? feeling better??? ready to communicate????

My ORIGINAL question was simply why is the gripboard activity(particularly the bending forum) so slow and if anyone had any ideas as to why this is so. It turned into the usual crazy, menstrual, hormonal, lets

"get all crazy" thread.

Firstly, this thread was never intended to single anyone out(well, maybe Rex ), never meant as a stab to any grip promoter, etc.

What are my accomplishments as far as bending/grip. Well, lets just say that my pinching, RT, thickbar can use some work. It's getting better, but we all have our strengths and weakness. I know many of you can axle lift 350+ pounds(I don't even know if I can regular deadlift that weight ), pinch grip 10,000+ pounds, etc, etc. I feel that my non-bending grip related lifts have really come along in recent time and I am working on them just as much as my bending. But let me ask you guys this question. How many of you can bend 5 SSP #3 Horseshoes in under 1 minute??? How many of you can push the boundaries on 5/8 and 3/4" bends??? How many of you can reverse bend an FBBC shiny bastard in single leathers????(shucks, that was supposed to be next weeks surprise for you guys ).

My point is simple! Just respect one another and understand that nobody is amazing in every aspect of grip(well maybe Paul knight ), but just appreciate everyone else's achievments/accomplishments as they come. I have the highest respect for peple like Chris, Aaron, John Beatty, and all the other promoters/grippsters, etc.

And no I haven't had the chance to attend any grip events. I would love to one day and get to meet all of you in person. With my current schedule, I can't attend these events(but I will one day, even if there is no bending events ) I know that I would get destroyed in most lifts, but it's all about the camaraderie. None of us is taking home a Tiger Woods salary for what we do. So when certain people(ie:Rex ) make statements like, "quit the bending and join the real grip athletes(ala Star Wars analogy- "Carl, turn away from the dark-side"), then yes I do get irritated and have to chime in as a result.

I am already sick of this thread and will no longer discuss these issues. Thanks for listening!

-Carl

If you decide to come down here to AZ and do one of my comps

- Aaron

I really appreciate the hospitality and would love to meet you all at the next grip comp. in AZ. Thanks Aaron!

Edited October 15, 2009 by naturalstrength

[gazza]

I didn't want to post anymore in this thread but I just couldn't keep my mouth shut

I guesse bending a cut edgin in double wraps in the do folding style weighing i guesse 260-280lbs is 2 easy and there for should not be included in grip comps

How many has performed a bend like this? According to the FBBC list, there are four persons, Paul, Rex, Aaron and John Beatty. Booyah has done it for the steelslayer's list. Gazza has done bends way more difficult than this. I might have missed someone, but anyway, not very many have done this, regardless which wraps that are used.

My point is: The argument that a cut edgin is too easy, it's just to slap on some doubles and apply upperbody force, and therefor it isnt bending anymore, is just strange. Why? Because the guys who have bent a cut edgin have proved over and over again that they have a lot of grip and wrist strength.

Gary, you may not know this, but I've also done a Big Shiny, double underhand. I just notified Wannagrip to change my title to reflect this signal achievement. I am truly an All-Around Bender, and with each bend I do, the more I come to see that for anything grip-related that bending might test, there's a more direct and more accurate way to test it with other devices. Pure bending comps, however, are worthwhile and I hope that Eric's contest spawns others like it.

-Rex

This is a very relevant point though, my experience is that bending is an own animal, containing a unique set of skills. Some of them are very tied to wrist and grip strength, some of them are tied to upper body strength (for example the crushdown).

My reference to REX was really me pulling his chain i was actually using Rex and the do folding style with doubles as an example

Rex is proving that he has all the right mental as well as physical tools for grip stuff as well as classic gym lifts like the squat etc and he is taking each task and making a statement with each of them .

Altho there are only a few people who have bent a cut edgin my anology was that it should be alot easier for the big big guys useing all the bench and upper body strength plus with the double wraps in the high do style alot of power can be used that doesnt mean that the same guy/guys can bend respectable stock useing other styles more wrist dependant which in my eyes to be classed as a great bender then you have to be decent with other styles not just the high do style.

Mike,Aaron,Rex and John are all very powerfull men and very accomplished benders and i would not class them with my above statements and i personally think that Mike[bOOYAH Hadland when you factor in his age and what age he took up bending is the greatest short steel bender of the moderbn era.

Rex has now done a BIG shiny du style so again hes showing that he has the mindset and physical qualities to show how its done would love to see what he can reverse and heslep as well as he seems to set a task then does it lets everyone know but thats Rex and hes like the Mohammed Ali of grip.

Paul thankyou for the compliments much appreciated.

I came from a tough background construction were you had to earn a living with your hands and body so it was natural for me to persue bending,ive also done some matial arts,boxing,downhill mountain bike racing and gym work etc ive always chosen stuff thats a little more diverse with risks and never took the easy root and once i put my mind to it,its 100percent or nothing and this last year i havent been giving the bending 100percent so i quit it.

Chris

I was getting reasonable with the kbs[thankyou for the dvds much appreciated] reasonable for me were the double 32s were feeling light and a 40 on its own was light i then got a mountainbike and started combining the 2 but had a fall 2 weeks ago hit some wet roots 2 fast and side swiped a tree cracked a rib and bruised up my shoulder wrist and hip so just been doing some gentle rides to keep the body from stiffening up to much no kb work tho as i cant swing as the rib dont like it a few more weeks and i will be ok to resume some light kbing.

[AP]

Where are Terry Duty and Tom Black?

[naturalstrength]

I cannot speak for anyone other than myself here. But I have simply had a bunch of other crap going on in my life that is seeming to suck the time energy and money that I used to put into bending. I still do some shows for people and have it at for anger management at times. I don't know about others but not posting on this forum does not mean I am not still interested in this stuff and you guys. I just feel I have less to contribute recently and still read and see whats going on but I feel a bit more removed from things when I am not actively engaged in them.

I have noticed lots of people like to read and talk about things, but for some reason don't actually DO the things they talk about very much if at all. These people are all over conventional forums and basically suck. The thing is, I think most of the people on here are NOT those kind of people. We like to talk about what we are actually DOING. So if we have fallen away from bending for a bit, there is not as much discussion. In that manner it is actually sort of a good thing I feel. I would rather the forum temporarily wane rather than deteriorate into just talk.

I for one am not quitting, and like Tim T has said, I have found taking a long rest and coming back to it does not really hurt my strength much if at all.

Actually maybe you guys that are in the same boat could comment on this, I feel stronger actually doing a big bend, like I have more force to put into it, maybe from resting. But at the same time my pain tolerance is terrible now. I still have the drive to hit it hard but right after I let off, I am like OOOOWWWW, why does that hurt so much now? With some anger and adrenaline this subsides, and maybe I sound like a little girl for saying it, but I just don't remember it hurting nearly as much when I did it more often.

On a side note, I work in a whare house at night again now. And I have been doing handstand pushups in trailers and pullups on stuff. I can't hardly ever lift with the powerlifting crew I used to on sunday mornings, it really sucks. I recently hit 8 reps deadlifting the back of the taylor dunn at my work though. http://gandcrepairce...125164245_0.jpg (the orange thing) It is surprisingly heavy with the battery rack in the back. I could only get 2-3 reps coming off a 450lb deadlift when I started. One other guy at work has got the tires a bit off the ground, but nowhere near lockout with it. So I am still doing weird stuff and trying to lift and workout where and when I can. Bending is just very tough on my shoulders and it would mess me up at my job. I really want to get a different job that doesn't interfere with lifting and bending so much so I can get back into it again.

I also got a new car project which I am spending allot of time and money on, this has taken most of those 2 resources away from my steel scrolling. Hopefully I will have the car going and can drive and enjoy it and put my time back into scrolling again soon.

Tim,

Thanks for chiming in! It sounds like you are still keeping strong with your training and I can't believe your deadlifting the Taylor Dunn, those things are extremely heavy Just make sure you don't injure yourself while at work, I guess it would make for a very unusual workman's comp claim I still have some of that psychotic stainless steel you sent me awhile back and it's still a pain Keep up with those scrolls Tim, they are incredible pieces when finished All the best

-Carl

[big nasty]

I excuse is ive lost over 100lbs and i just dont have mustard in my sandwich anymore I bent a red awhile back and my shoulder's hurt for a week lol. So I still do gripper's lot's of kettlebell's and I bend some 60's and 70's every once in awhile. I am going to do alittle mini show after a local powerlifting meet they want me to do some kettlebell im taking a 45 plate for some hubbing I may take some nail's to bend. So that's where ive been if anyone care's !

[climber511]

I excuse is ive lost over 100lbs and i just dont have mustard in my sandwich anymore I bent a red awhile back and my shoulder's hurt for a week lol. So I still do gripper's lot's of kettlebell's and I bend some 60's and 70's every once in awhile. I am going to do alittle mini show after a local powerlifting meet they want me to do some kettlebell im taking a 45 plate for some hubbing I may take some nail's to bend. So that's where ive been if anyone care's !

You've lost 100#? Wow - that's awesome! Congratulations! How about some before and after pics?

[Bob Lipinski]

Congrats on the weight loss!

Bending just messed up everything else too much for me. I quit bending completely and my gripper strength soared. Maybe some other day. I have been bending off and on for a while, I still try a little at contests and gettogethers.

[Tim71]

For me too, bending started out as a feat of strength and to this day, bending an impressive spike still is my passion more so than bending a calibrated piece of steel for a list. Not saying I don't do some of the latter just that my main passion always was and always will be feats of strength.

I did manage to bend a 4 way lug wrench for a guy a couple days ago. We were standing outside his workplace discussing bending so I leaned over the bed of my truck and grabbed the 4 way and crushed 2 of legs together between my thighs. Stuff like that is hard to tell where it fits in so I don't usually post alot of that type stuff.

Tim

[naturalstrength]

I did manage to bend a 4 way lug wrench for a guy a couple days ago. Stuff like that is hard to tell where it fits in so I don't usually post alot of that type stuff.

Tim

Tim,

For me personally, that is the kind of stuff that we would love to see posted on your youtube site.

Remember, just because the feat may not seem incredible to you, doesn't mean that the other members of the board wouldn't like to see the feat performed and become inspired by it(hence more posts and videos=busier gripboard ).

[big nasty]

I excuse is ive lost over 100lbs and i just dont have mustard in my sandwich anymore I bent a red awhile back and my shoulder's hurt for a week lol. So I still do gripper's lot's of kettlebell's and I bend some 60's and 70's every once in awhile. I am going to do alittle mini show after a local powerlifting meet they want me to do some kettlebell im taking a 45 plate for some hubbing I may take some nail's to bend. So that's where ive been if anyone care's !

You've lost 100#? Wow - that's awesome! Congratulations! How about some before and after pics?

I will see what I can do the before you see as my pic I will try to get one up thank's agian for the congrad's !

[bencrush]

Always good to see you're still around and kicking Jason! Your body transformation has been incredible.

[ObsceneJester]

I stopped for awhile because of all the bickering I saw. It was sad for me to see grown men crying over bending styles, peoples bends and people being the victim.

It became more of a hassle to bend then an enjoyment. I'm starting to bend again even tho my shoulder is messed up and glad to see some familiar faces

[bencrush]

I stopped for awhile because of all the bickering I saw. It was sad for me to see grown men crying over bending styles, peoples bends and people being the victim.

It became more of a hassle to bend then an enjoyment. I'm starting to bend again even tho my shoulder is messed up and glad to see some familiar faces

It's good to have you back Rob! Seems like all of us on the board are able to argue in a more civil fashion these days. I have been able to be civil and that's the first step towards establishing a bend-topia.

[naturalstrength]

I stopped for awhile because of all the bickering I saw. It was sad for me to see grown men crying over bending styles, peoples bends and people being the victim.

But I don't understand!?! There is never any bickering, complaining, wrapping debates, etc. on the bending forum. You must be new to the board. Welcome!!

[ObsceneJester]

Lol I can see that Ben. I was about to say I remember the phone conversation we had. You and Jad were always civil and I enjoyed the sarcasm. I'm glad to see that it has changed, really put a sour taste in my mouth

But I don't understand!?! There is never any bickering, complaining, wrapping debates, etc. on the bending forum. You must be new to the board. Welcome

Lol thanks.. you really laid that sarcasm on thick (:

[big nasty]

Always good to see you're still around and kicking Jason! Your body transformation has been incredible.

I think im coming to AL'S for your meet not sure about competing I just cant move weight like I used to but may run to watch. Good to see you still getting after it!

[David_wigren]

bend 5 SSP #3 Horseshoes in under 1 minute

Carl I couldn't help to notice this. Is this true? If so

[naturalstrength]

bend 5 SSP #3 Horseshoes in under 1 minute

Carl I couldn't help to notice this. Is this true? If so

Thanks David! Yes, I did manage to take down the 5 ssp in record time a few months ago for some members at the gym before I quite and started working out at home. I should have recorded it but unfortunately I didn't. I will try to perform this feat soon and video it. I am still recovering from a NASTY injury to my left rectus femoris muscle after taking down a 3/4"x 34" HRS bend. I think I am going to take a relatively long vacation from the bending game and let myself recover both physically and mentally. Then, its time to take down the 5/8x21" and the 3/4"x33", as well as the 5 SSP horseshoes All the best David!

p.s. I am still waiting for you to finish that AB#6 shoe

[David_wigren]

bend 5 SSP #3 Horseshoes in under 1 minute

Carl I couldn't help to notice this. Is this true? If so

Thanks David! Yes, I did manage to take down the 5 ssp in record time a few months ago for some members at the gym before I quite and started working out at home. I should have recorded it but unfortunately I didn't. I will try to perform this feat soon and video it. I am still recovering from a NASTY injury to my left rectus femoris muscle after taking down a 3/4"x 34" HRS bend. I think I am going to take a relatively long vacation from the bending game and let myself recover both physically and mentally. Then, its time to take down the 5/8x21" and the 3/4"x33", as well as the 5 SSP horseshoes All the best David!

p.s. I am still waiting for you to finish that AB#6 shoe

After you recover I think it's time for you to attack the bigger shoes. I'm recovering myself right now and slowly getting back into it. When I'm fully recovered I plan to focus primarily on the shoes and see how far I can take it. Best of luck to your vacation and your comeback

[gazza]

I blew off the singles today and did a couple of bends only reverse and heslep style was quite suprised at my reverse strength but it hurt in a nice way

I might try one in the teeth later an see if i can still beat the pain

[fortes mãos]

"like ZOIKS, Scoob, let's get outta here!!". I'm not even close to the bends that you men have done but it always inspires me to do more or give a hundred percent when I'm trying. But bending hurts theirs no way around it, that is the only thing that makes me bend to a minimum. I know that sounds like a Kitty Kat twister but it's true. Plus seeing my training partners hurting off there waffle it sucks. When your in pain it means no PR's unless your Gazza. But I'm just a soul whose intentions are good. Oh Lord please don't let me be hurting from bending.

[naturalstrength]

I guess some things never change

[David_wigren]

I guess some things never change

Haha I was thinking the same thing

[Darko]

Ive having an break from bending since i got pains in my elbows while bending. Hoping to hit some steel by the new year^^

[David_wigren]

I'm bending sectretly, sort of. I'm focosing entirely on horseshoes. Specifically on the crushdown, wich I'm making big gains on. I'll post a few PR's in a couple of weeks if everythings goes the way it does right now